Thoughts from Mr. Cox – Sept. 8

Good morning Garden Spot,

I hope you had a great extended weekend, and were able to relax and enjoy some time with family and friends. I wanted to thank you for such an awesome start to the school year. I am so impressed with how positive, upbeat, and respectful you are. It has been great getting to see the new faces of the class of 2019, and to watch the kindness of the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes as we welcome them into our building. I can’t imagine that there is a finer group of young men and women anywhere. I look forward to getting to see all of you in the morning. Y’all are great… keep on rockin’!

Reminders:

The outside lunch area will be open beginning this week. Please remember to clean up after yourselves if you eat outside, and to travel only in the 400 wing hallway between the main entrance to the cafeteria and the exit to the outside courtyard. This is a privilege that we have been happy to extend to the student body in the past, and it has always been handled responsibly. Please continue to behave responsibly so we can offer the outdoors as an option for you during your lunch.

Teacher Spotlight:

I would like to take a moment to extend a warm welcome to a talented bunch of new staff. We are excited to have them all on board, and to see how their skills will help to continually improve the education we offer each of you. Take a moment today to thank a new staff member for their decision to get into education, and confirm with your words and actions that they have made the right decision for their careers.

Personal Challenge:

I am going to write about some behavioral issues that always seem to pop up at the beginning of each school year. For any of you that have been in Mr. Sanger’s or my office, you have probably heard us say that we would prefer to have your behavior improve as a result of our conversation as it is not our desire to discipline anyone. While there are some things that are severe enough to warrant disciplinary action immediately, most things can be articulated in a way that the expected behavior moving forward is clear, and no disciplinary action is necessary. One of the most common things I hear in my office has to do with arguments between students. Both sides generally claim that their behavior is warranted because the other person has wronged them in some way… this is usually the beginning of some sort of back and forth between two or more individuals, a back and forth that will only stop if one person decides to be the bigger person. I generally hear from both sides that they want the drama to stop, but rarely do I hear that they understand the reality of the situation they are in… the reality that they are the one who has the ability to stop it. It cannot be predicated on the other side stopping first, because if that is the case then the drama will never stop because both sides have the same philosophy (they will only stop if the other person stops first)… it has to be a decision of one side to rise above the drama. It frustrates me that the things you all see and hear on TV, in your music, and generally from the “get famous at all costs” crowd that the internet and star studded Hollywood crowd have lifted up as being important, are things that make being selfish seem like the normal way to behave… that being rude and having constant drama ultimately leads to success (as most of the reality TV stars have become famous for). Most of the time that doesn’t get you far in life…

respect
Image from Flickr

I am encouraging each of you to live your lives in a way that gains real respect from the people around you, not fake respect because people are afraid of what you might do to or say about them. Real respect is based on people knowing you to be a person of solid character and integrity, a person they can rely on to be kind when they are weak, to be trustworthy in their interactions with you, to be fair, and to care more about others than you do about yourselves. Hold yourselves accountable to doing the right thing even when others around you may not. The bottom line is rather simple… two rights do not make a wrong, life is not always fair, and the only person responsible for your actions is you. There will be people that make life difficult for the rest of your life, but only you have the power to decide to stay away from the drama, or to enter into it. Be a person who others want to be around, but also respect. It’s not about being the life of the party, or the class clown… those things quickly fade as others move on with their lives… It is about being a good person, and that will generally take you far in life.

So, while the emphasis above was mainly on your behavior, the bigger picture is that the message applies to all of your life. The only one who can improve your current condition is you. If it is bad, or filled with drama every day and coming at you from every direction, just know that pointing fingers and blaming others, and responding to others with the same crap they may have thrown at you, does not make tomorrow any better, nor does it allow you to be any happier. We all need to understand that if we do not treat others the way we want to be treated, or give others the same grace for their behaviors that we want others to extend to us when we mess up, then we cannot expect that our relationships and the day to day struggles interacting with others will get any simpler. We need to understand that if we do not work hard, then we cannot expect that things we have not worked for will be given to us. While it is nice to have support when you are down, if you have not worked hard to achieve something, you cannot be frustrated that you have not achieved it. This applies to sports, musical instruments, skate boarding, school, relationships… well, it pretty much applies to life.

Effort breeds achievement in both your relationships and your academics. Get your priorities in line, and start working hard to produce a better tomorrow for yourself. Be a person that treats others well even when they may not deserve it. Be a person that doesn’t make excuses for their current situation, but always keeps their head high and works hard to make the best out of whatever life throws at them. You deserve it, you are the only one who can make it happen, and I believe in your ability to do just that!
Have a great week ladies and gentlemen,

Mr. Cox

Assistant Principal
Garden Spot High School

 

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